Trump's tariff appeal: Where things stand
An appellate court's routine order temporarily reinstating Trump's tariffs doesn't mean the White House got a big win.
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After more than 170 courtroom defeats, Donald Trump’s supporters will take whatever legal victories they can get, however fleeting.
On Thursday, a federal appeals court temporarily reinstated Trump’s tariffs, sparking social media celebrations among his loyalists.
Republican Rep. Mike Collins, a 2020 election denialist from Georgia, posted: “Patriots in control.”
Collins is likely in for a rude surprise when the appeals court issues a decision on the merits.
The big ruling that Collins was touting is called an administrative stay, which preserves the status quo before the judges rule on the merits.
The Supreme Court issued two administrative stays in Trump’s favor before ordering him to facilitate the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and blocking him from expelling immigrants to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act.
Unlike SCOTUS, Trump’s current appeal is before an appellate court bench dominated by Democratic appointees by a 7-5 margin. One Ronald Reagan-appointed judge, Pauline Newman, didn’t participate in the decision, making it effectively a 7-4 margin.
So by the crude math of partisan affiliations, Trump has an even less friendly bench before this appellate court than he had before the Court of International Trade, where a panel dominated by Republican appointees ruled against him unanimously. Trump appointed one of the judges who blocked his tariffs.
Tonight, I participated in two interviews about the decision.
Unraveling the spin surrounding the ruling,
and I broke down the issues on his YouTube channel. In short, this administrative stay is significant in that it could prolong the pain for small businesses and consumers as the appeal proceeds, but it does not indicate where the appeals court is leaning.Watch our full analysis below:
For viewers in the U.K., I appeared on LBC on a range of Trump-related legal issues, and some philosophical ones, in a discussion with host Iain Dale.